


Hämärä

by Poplitealqueen



Series: Frisson [7]
Category: Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) - All Media Types
Genre: Darth Serenus, Frisson AU, Gen, M/M, Qui-Gon Lives, Sith Qui-Gon, Umbara Angst Up the Wazoo, clone feels
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-05-06
Updated: 2018-05-06
Packaged: 2019-04-21 00:58:47
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,024
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14273493
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Poplitealqueen/pseuds/Poplitealqueen
Summary: Umbara is considered the ugly black mark on the otherwise near-impeccable record of the Republic's victories. It's a world filled with many war stories, and even more fallen. It's not something anyone wants to remember.But Rex does.He always does.





	Hämärä

**Author's Note:**

> Long time no speaken, folks. How is we? Is good? Good. I'm great.
> 
> I've mentioned this on other fic I've posted recently, but it's kickass news so I'll post it again: I'm officially a published author now! No book (yet), but I've managed to get a couple short stories into anthologies, and, lemme tell ya, it feels pretty dang sweet. But my first love is fanfic.
> 
> Sorry it's been so long since I've messed around with this AU. Posting THIS doesn't mean I've stopped writing Pulsion, either. I've just been wanting to get this one started for a good long while, and what better time then May, the month with the most Star Wars holidays?
> 
> This fic takes place after Pulsion. I really hope you enjoy it, and updates will be continuing once I'm through with this semester! MAY 17TH, BABY.
> 
> -Miss Pop
> 
> PS: Warning for some intense battlefield moments. Kinda gore, too, but not too bad. Ahem. Yet. Also, double warning for dickhead Krell. I should have made that a tag.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Umbara is considered the ugly black mark on the otherwise near-impeccable record of the Republic's victories. It's a world filled with many war stories, and even more fallen. It's not something anyone wants to remember.
> 
> But Rex does.
> 
> He always does.
> 
> (I can't even call this a fix-it. It's a break-it. Have fun, fam, you thought Umbara was bad before? Add in some Sith Qui-Gon, a faceless Separatist assassin, some questionable and terrifying history between Krell and Dogma, and then we can talk. But hey! At least it's really gay, right!)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Long time no speaken, folks. How is we? Is good? Good. I'm great.
> 
> I've mentioned this on other fic I've posted recently, but it's kickass news so I'll post it again: I'm officially a published author now! No book (yet), but I've managed to get a couple short stories into anthologies, and, lemme tell ya, it feels pretty dang sweet. But my first love is fanfic.
> 
> Sorry it's been so long since I've messed around with this AU. Posting THIS doesn't mean I've stopped writing Pulsion, either. I've just been wanting to get this one started for a good long while, and what better time then May, the month with the most Star Wars holidays?
> 
> This fic takes place after Pulsion. I really hope you enjoy it, and updates will be continuing once I'm through with this semester! MAY 17TH, BABY.
> 
> -Miss Pop
> 
> PS: Warning for some intense battlefield moments. Kinda gore, too, but not too bad. Ahem. Yet. Also, double warning for dickhead Krell. I should have made that a tag.

Beside Rex on the transport, General Skywalker smiles his usual smile. He’s relaxed and ready, and that calm does wonders for the morale of the troops around them. Even as the planet below goes to complete hell.

“There’s a lot of surface fire,” Rex says, staring down into the plethora of colorful flak explosions erupting beneath them the cloud cover.

“They ain’t got nothin’ we can’t handle, sir,” Hardcase chimes in on the other side of the General. Hardcase has always been a wild card, but effective in battle. Rex can feel his excitement like the thrum of the transport’s engines beneath his feet.

A sudden rolling boom sounds right before the transport beside them bursting into a ball of yellow fire. It sinks beneath the dark clouds and out of their sight.

Rex hears a soft sound of nervousness, and turns to one of the newer additions to their Legion: Tup. They’d picked him up shortly after the mess on Lola Sayu and he was still learning what a real war was like. His armor is mostly shiny, save for a single blue teardrop under the eyeplate of his helmet. He’s now holding onto the tether above him with both hands.

“You hangin’ in there, Tup?” Rex asks.

Tup is eager in his response. “So far so good, Captain.”

The gunship is jostled by laserfire again, and Tup grabs onto Rex’s shoulder for dear life with one hand.

“Kriff kriff kriff kriff!” he mutters under his breath.

Fives pats his newer brother on the back. “Easy, soldier.”

Beside them, Hardcase reaches over to thump Tup playfully on the helmet.

“Yeah, _vod_ , you’re acting like it’s your first time in a gunship. Don’t be scared!”

“Lay off,” Tup says defensively, pushing his hand away. “I’m not scared. I just have a natural fear of crashing to my death. Unlike you, Hardcase.”

Hardcase shrugs one shoulder. “If it means we’ll get to action the action faster, I’ll crash anything.” The rest of them roll their eyes.

General Skywalker’s comm beeps. It’s Hawk, the brother flying their ship. _< General Skywalker, I’m turning the lights out. Our night vision sensors are having a tough time in this chop. I hope we don’t overshoot our landing site.>_

General Skywalker shares a brief, apprehensive look with Rex. “Just get us as close as you can.”

The area around them immediately plunges into darkness, accentuated by the bright red working lights by their feet and heads. Rex’s HUD starts to pick up every explosion all around them as a bright flares of light on the internal screen.

"Get ready," Skywalker warns.

“Time to lock and load!” Hardcase hoots, waving his blaster cannon in the air.

At the rear of the ship, Dizzy climbs into his stationary AT-RT, the metal joints folded up like a bird sitting until he activates it. As the ship breaks through the cloud cover, revealing a dark planet pocked with large, glowing, tendril-like plants, Rex's ears pop. They have to be close.

It takes a moment for him to adjust to the landscape. Even with his helmet's light filters, everything appear the same: dark. Hawk flies them close to the ground, still near full speed, and the rear landing gantry slides open. Dizzy waves at them with two fingers, before guiding the AT-RT out backwards.

First Wave AT-RT riders are madmen. Not many brothers can do what they do.

As soon as Dizzy is out, the ship speeds up once more to reach the landing site. Below them, Rex watches as the AT-RT riders bear down upon the Umbarans like a wave of death. Hundreds upon hundreds of his brothers race through exploding earth and green-blue blaster fire, weaving in and out of terrain before slamming into the enemy. Balls of plasma fire roll across the field like the moon across the Kaminoan night sky, electrocuting those unfortunate enough not to escape the blast radius. The stench of charred flesh reaches them all the way up in the air.

 _< I’m bringing us down>_ Hawk says through Skywalker’s comm, just as the air around them lights up from an explosion. _< It’s gonna be a rocky landing. Prepare to disembark!>_

“Ya-HOOOO!” Hardcase whoops, smacking the back of his palm on General Skywalker’s chest. “Think we have a Skywalker Landing on our hands, sir?”

Tup groans out multiple “no’s” in both Basic and Mando’a, while the General cracks a bright smile as another potshot vibrates through the hull of the gunship.

“It’s always a Skywalker Landing when I’m on board, trooper,” he says. “Now, look alive!”

“Sir, yes, sir!”

The gunship doesn’t quite land so much as hover a few centimeters over the ground, shaking from the constant barrage of blasterfire as everyone pours out of its sides. When Rex climbs out, something in the air stings his eyes and he can taste dust in his mouth. Soil brought up into the air from short-lived barrages from the laser turrets, blaster fire, and bombs, no doubt.

His pistols are in his hands before he even needs to think about it, and beside him, Skywalker’s lightsaber shines like a beacon of blue-white light in the darkness. Like glowbugs to a bulb, every clone trooper follows him as Skywalker races ahead into the battle. Rex remains close at his side. There isn’t any time for rest, or thought. Only action. This is what war is: blasting, dodging, and following your Jedi.

Shouts mirroring his own voice echo all around him.

“Go go go go go!”

“That’s the stuff! That’s the– AAARGH!”

“Keep going, boys! That’s it! Give it to ‘em!”

Shafts of light from the transports light the way for them as Rex, Skywalker, and the rest of the clones run across the field toward the enemy. Everything is so loud, so constant, that Rex does what he always does: he focuses on the movement of his leg muscles as he races along; the beating of his heart; the enemies right in front of him. That’s the only thing he likes about these all-out frontal assaults: no matter where you are, the enemy is always in front of you.

The Umbarans slowly but surely begin to retreat under their attack. Rex can see them fleeing when he and Skywalker reach a small hill. They’ve almost won this battle, which means they’ll need a base.

“This map has a ridge at 23 degrees north, northwest,” Rex tells his General, and Skywalker nods, still blocking blaster fire as he replies.

“Good. We can use it as a staging area.”

"Right, sir." Rex turns toward the others troopers and shouts over the din, still sprinting forward. "Keep movin’! We gotta clean out that ridge. The other battalions are counting on us!” His heart is pounding in his chest, his breath loud in the confined space of his helmet, yet Rex continues to pump his legs, urging them to move faster. Skywalker is running behind him now, deflected blasts from enemy combatants that have managed to circle around them. Rex hears yells over his comm, final gurgles of life. Rex can't tell who is who -- in times like this, being identical clones with identical voices can be infuriatingly difficult, but can't look to see whose still following and who isn't.

“Don’t stray too far,” Skywalker says. “The enemy could have the whole place rigged with traps.”

“I can’t even see the enemy!” Tup wails.

“That’s why they’re called the Shadow People, Tup,” Hardcase shouts behind him, as if it's the most obvious thing in the galaxy.

An Umbaran ship comes screaming overhead, and moments later a large, green explosion eats up the ground ahead of them.

“Kiss the ground!” Rex yells. “Now!”

Rex throws himself face-down, tremors rocking the ground beneath him. Another series of blasts cause the earth to tremble before the sleek ship careens back into the cloud cover. It takes a few minutes for the dust to settle, and once it does the screaming start. Some are his brothers; others the alien wail of the Umbarans. The bomb was strong enough to even fling some of Rex's brothers far ahead of him, who now lie twisted and still in the dirt.

A colorful cussword filters in through his comm. Kix snarls out another one before Rex can form a response, and races past him with his medical satchel already open. Jesse follows after him, blasting the bodies of Umbarans that Kix runs past without a second thought. 

Rex takes a deep breath, tasting iron on his tongue, and pushes himself to his feet. The battlefield, so loud just a moment before, has gone quiet. He surveys his surroundings, and catches sight of Skywalker also getting to his feet. Rex holsters one pistol, and goes to help him.

"What a warm welcome," Skywalker says, coming up beside him.

"Sure." Rex pauses, then adds. "Maybe they'll launch fireworks instead of bombs next."

***

They manage to gain a series of Umbaran-made trenches twelve klicks from the Umbaran capital and three klicks from their landings ite. Distant explosions light up the sky like fireworks. Skywalker watches them carefully, a frown pulling at his lips. In turn, Rex watches him.

“General Kenobi’s battalion, sir?” Rex asks before he can stop himself. He can feel Fives’ smile somewhere behind him. _Someone has a crush_ , he can hear his brother thinking. Rex silently wonders how in the hells the bastard managed to survive after his ship was blown out of mid-air.

Skywalker pulls his binoculars away and smiles knowingly. “They’re pushing towards the capital. Don’t worry, you’ll see him again.” His face quickly reverts to all business. “We’ll need to move out as soon as the men are ready.”

From the left side of the trench, one of Rex’s brothers comes racing down. His armor is painted with sharp, angled lines reminiscent of triangles, or diamonds. Even his haircut and tattoo reflect the sharp neatness of this particular clone’s personality.

Dogma, CT-7318, is a newer addition to the 501st, a transfer from General Pong Krell’s now-defunct battalion. He was from the same batch as Tup, and his shine still shows through the wear and tear of his armor. Dogma stands at attention, helmet at his hip.

“All platoons have reported in, General,” he announces.

Skywalker smiles at him. The man is always full of smiles, particularly for new recruits. “Good job. Get some rest.”

“Thank you, sir,” Dogma replies, still standing at attention. “I’m fine.”

He doesn’t look Skywalker in the eyes as he says that, staring at a space between his shoulder and chin instead.

The General gives Rex a look, one eyebrow and side of his lip raised.

Rex shakes his head. “The General’s giving you an order, Dogma,” he says, stepping over to the younger clone.

Dogma straightens up. “Of course, sir!”

Rex raises his eyebrows. “Go get some rest.”

Dogma nods stiffly and turns around, heading back the way he’d come. Rex turns around as well, and takes his place by Skywalker’s side once more.

“He’s wound tight, but he’s loyal.”

Skywalker chuckles. “I’m not surprised. He’s the most relaxed soldier I’ve seen from Master Krell’s battalion. He kind of reminds me of you, actually.”

Rex is glad his general can't see him scowling. “Maybe… back in the day," he says. 

***

It doesn't take long for relative peace and quiet to set in, and Rex can feel his muscles beginning to strain from how taut he's holding them, waiting for something to happen. He urges himself to relax, but it doesn't do much anything except make him more aware of the quiet outside of their trenches. Rex hates the quiet inbetween battles; it's always too loud.

Skywalker notices him fiddling with one of his blasters before Rex even realizes that he's doing it. The Jedi smirks.

"Nervous?"

"Nope, just checking that my charges are full."

Rex has become a professional on-the-fly liar since joining the 501st, but Skywalker sees right through it. The Jedi folds his arms over his tabard.

"You could try to meditate," he suggests.

"Right." Rex looks up at him. "Because that works so well for you, sir?"

Skywalker pouts, for an instant looking as young as he truly is, but he quickly schools his expression back to nonchalance. It's almost imperceptible, but Rex sees right through his General, too.

"Thank you for the suggestion, but I'm fine," Rex tacks on.

"This is war, Rex, and we just lost a lot of men. I'd be worried if you were fine," Skywalker says, and then places a gloved hand on one of Rex's pauldrons. "Relax a bit." He cocks his head in the direction of the faint sound of voices. "Maybe listen to Hardcase."

Rex sighs. "Alright, sir."

As soon as Skywalker steps away, Rex takes his advice. Hardcase and a pack of his brothers are too far away to hear clearly, and by the nature of the battlefield they aren't being loud enough to be heard outside of their small tangle of trenches to begin with, but fiddling around with his helmet's comm has their words coming in to Rex clearly. He leans back against the hard-pressed dirt of his trench, and listens.

The first thing he catches is Hardcase's familiar laugh. A mix between a scream, wheeze, and cackle.

“You’ll never believe it,” Hardcase says, and Rex imagines him wriggling his fingers. “Out of nowhere, this log becomes a touchy-feely tentacle thing and lifts me off the ground!”

“It was always a touchy-feely tentacle thing, Hardcase,” Tup chimes in somewhere to his left.

Rex bets Hardcase waves his hand. His brother has a penchant for arm movements. “Right, right. Anyways, I’m blasting the thing, right? But nothing I do is working! It chomps up Wayside, poor bastard, and then it goes and grabs _this_ bastard.” The sound of a hand slapping on something plastisteel buzzes through the comm.

“The thing drops me, finally. I go ‘That’s not right’ and start blasting it s’more, right? But the thing just won’t die! Then Fives,” at this, Hardcase shakes his head and laughs, “You tell ‘em, _vod._ ”

Rex hears a smile in Fives's voice as he says, “I threw a bomb in it.”

“He threw a bomb in it!” Hardcase’s laughter is loud enough to warrant a hush from both Kix and Jesse on the other side of the trench. “Ate the droid popper right up, and BOOM. No more touchy-feely tentacle thingy.”

A crunching sound follows Hardcase's voice, nearly imperceptable. _Must be something with the system_ , Rex thinks when he hears it again. This time louder and closer. He lowers the audio input of his helmet and listens around him.

There. There it is again. Above him.

Rex twists to the right, his blaster in hand, just in time to catch a small, bug-like form jump across the top of the trench and skitter away, heading towards the sound of Hardcase and the troopers surrounding him.

"Kark, give me a damned break!" Rex snaps, activating his comm and broadcasting on all open Republic channels.

"We've been breached!" He announces. "Watch yourselves, boys. It's some sort of biomechanical droid, two-feet in length, shoot on--"

"What is that?!" Rex hears Hardcase shout, following by the sharp buzzing ring of blaster bolts.

Rex switches off his connection frequency, and pushes himself to his feet. _Blast._

***

“What is that?!” Hardcase yells.

The Umbaran droid flits past Tups and onto another trooper. “Look out!” Tups says, and now they all have their blasters out and firing at the droid. It dodges the bolts with ease, zipping between feet as enemy fire begins to rain down from behind them.

“Ambush! They’re behind us!” One of Dizzy’s men yell, before a shot in the back causes him to sag forward in the seat of his AT-RT.

“Someone tell the General!” Kix yells, already leaning down over another fallen trooper.

Tup nods, and clicks on his comm.  _< General Skywalker, we've got a problem…>, _but Rex is the one that picks up.

_< Yeah?>_

_< They're coming in from behind, sir>_ his voice shakes, ever so slightly, but remains calm. Tup is impressed with himself.

Rex curses. _< Get moving, I'll call for help.>_

***

Rex makes the call for air support without asking Skywalker's permission. The call is short, connecting to a clone named Oddball that doesn't sound half as odd as his nickname implies. His responses are succinct, unnervingly so. 

 _< We need assistance>_, Rex starts. _< The enemy's-->_

 _< Where's General Skywalker?>_ Oddballs demands over the connection before Rex has a chance to continue. _< Were currently in reserves for General Kenobi. We need Skywalker's approval for this, Captain.>_

Rex glances to his left, where Skywalker is currently holding off three Umbarans.

 _< He's indisposed>_ says Rex. _< We need it now, trooper.>_

Rex swears he hears something along the lines of "Krell is gonna be pissed" muttered over the frequency, but it's too low to tell. A moment later, Oddball says, _< Preparing for take-off and delivery of arsenal. I'd get the hells out of there, Rex.>_

Rex frowns grimly. _< The enemy's circled behind us.>_ He finishes as he ends his comm conversation and slides on his helmet. He signals Skywalker, who only nods before running ahead of him, clearing part of the hill between their trench and the next with a single jump. “What a blasted party!" Rex flips the safety off of his other blaster pistol, and blows the head off of a charging enemy without looking in its direction. Blood and viscera splash into his visor.

Fives is suddenly in the trench beside him, covered in enough filth himself that there's hardly any white or blue on his armor left to see. 

"This battle might fuck you before Kenobi has a chance to," he says sweetly.

Rex rolls his eyes, wishing that Fives could see it. "Shut up and _move_."

The two of them go racing after Skywalker, dodging past twisting plants, flailing bodies, and green blaster bolts. They get to the last trench just as a brother is electrocuted by some… thing only a few feet away from them. Rex aims his blaster, but with one jump and a swing of his lightsaber, Skywalker has it taken care of.

The three roll up against the rear bank of the trench, each of them panting.

“I’ve called in an air strike on the enemy positions,” Rex manages out as he slaps another set of cartridges into his blasters.

“Let’s hope they’re not too busy helping Obi-Wan,” replies Skywalker, looking over the top of the embankment before sinking back down quickly to avoid a blaster shot.

The Umbarans are close enough now that Rex can hear them speaking in a language he doesn’t recognize. They’re going to be trapped between their own airstrike force and the enemy soon if they don’t move.

“There’s an opening to our south,” Fives continues. “I recommend we move all platoons off the ridge in case the airstrike overshoots.”

Skywalker looks above him at the tar-dark cloud cover, then back at Fives with a smirk and a nod. “Good thinking.” Skywalker stands up, blocking a blaster bolt without looking. “Troopers, move out. Now!” The order echoes in the comm system in Rex's helmet.

Brothers race past Rex. He spots Dogma beside Tup, Hardcase with his helmet in one hand and his blaster cannon in the other, Kix helping another trooper to his feet. It isn’t long before he’s moving as well, following Skywalker down the winding path of the trench. Above them on the hill, AT-RT riders urge their robotic mounts forward until they’re running, claws slamming and sinking down into the soft earth below. One directly above Rex is hit with a bomb, and explodes in a shower of sudden light. Rex curses and keeps going.

The trench ends abruptly ahead of him, and as an AT-RT moves from one hilled side to the other in one jump , Rex follows his general and the rest of his brothers as they scramble over the embankment on the right side and continue running. Behind him, Rex hears a guttural war shout and the sound of boots stomping after them, not even bothering with stealth. The Umbarans think they have them corralled. In the chaos of battle, Rex has the familiar urge to laugh. He holds it in; he’s long since learned how.

They soon reach an open stretch of land marked with bulbous, glowing plant life. Skywalker gestures for them to find a good spot, and hides behind the roots of the plant himself. Rex counts heads as he goes. Hardcase, Dizzy, Tup, Kix, Rivet, Fives, Jesse, Dogma… He keeps counting, and quickly runs by Kix for a secondary body count. Their medic is always keeping tabs.

When both his and Kix's counting is done, Rex finds Skywalker. “All here, sir.”

Skywalker motions with his palm down, crouching himself. “Stay covered,” he says and points at the ground for emphasis. “We have to hold this position.”

“Are you sure those bombers are coming?” Tup asks, just a step short of skeptically.

 _< Have a little faith, Tuppy>_ Hardcase says through their comms.

 _< If the General says so, then they’re coming>_ Dogma insists, breaking his usual streak of silence.

Tup swallows over their communal channel, and goes quiet as the reverberating boom of starfighters flying in low orbit echos overhead.

 _< There you go, Shiny> _Fives says.

Two bombers slide past them overhead, and over the area with the trenches. Behind them, a wall of fire stretching nearly as high as the trees are erupts from the ground.

“Good ole Oddball, always on target,” Hardcase elbows Tup in a friendly way.

The sound of explosions reach them on the wind, sharp and loud. Screams follow as well, dying just as quickly as they are heard. The bombing continues all the way to the ridge, until Odd Ball and Whirl turn up and off into the cloud cover. As the sounds die down, Skywalker sighs and says,

“Glad we got off that ridge.”

“Definitely,” Rex agrees, staring at the distant fires. Behind him, Hardcase laughs wildly.

“Ha! That’ll teach ‘em!”

***

This time around, no one is relaxed when silence ensues. Everyone is too busy seeing to their wounds, or watching the strange landscape warily for any sign of the enemy. Rex is standing near a makeshift medic station, where Kix and a handful of other medics are working nonstop. They've already downed enough caff pills between the lot of them to power Coruscant for a day.

"Kinda reminds you of the holos they used to show us of Kamino's seafloor, doesn't it?" Jesse notes as he walks past Rex. He's continued to double-tap the corpses of Umbarans, only now it's gone from one bolts to three, and a kick. There's an audible tremor in his voice. "Wonder if there was water here once?"

"Maybe conserve your ammo and look it up, mate." Fives has a calm about him that impresses everyone, most of all Rex. If this was what ARC training did, it was a wonder how in the hells they hadn't won this blasted war yet. Even while getting stitched up, he still finds time to try to lighten the mood.

Jesse stiffens, and so does Kix. 

"Only being safe," Jesse says. 

"Safe is saving ammo for enemies that are still breathing. Here." Fives holds out a small, metal square. A portable information pad. "Sit down, eat some rations, look up the history of this planet or whatever."

"That's a good idea," Rex agrees.

Jesse stares at the pad, and then pushes it away. "I'm good. Need to do another sweep."

"Jess-"

"I said I'm _good,_ " Jesse snaps. "I get it. You're a big bad ARC trooper and this is basically shore leave for you, but some of us--" He inhales shakily. "It isn't so easy for some of us. I..." His body visibly sags. "Sorry, vod, I didn't mean to snap. This place, it just...Leave me alone, please?"

Fives stows his pad back into his armor, visibly unaffected by Jesse's outburst. "Not a problem."

Kix had been watching the confrontation with growing alarm in his eyes. When Jesse finally snaps, he pats his patient on the shoulder and makes his way over to them.

"Hey," he says to Jesse, "Let's go talk."

Kix pulls Jesse off to the side with a hand on his arm. They huddle close, with Jesse all but burying his face into Kix's shoulder as Kix strokes the back of his neck, and Fives whistles after them.

“So, how long has that been going on?” he asks, turning to Rex once Kix and Jesse are out of earshot.

***

It isn't long after that Skywalker shows up at the makeshift triage. Bloody and bruised, he holds up his mechanical hand to keep Kix from coming over to him. Kix gives a terrific scowl that could put General Kenobi' s to shame, but listens and moves along to the next patient.

Skywalker stops next to Rex, a hand to his ear. He was talking to someone, the imperceptible comms unit somewhere in his ear 

“Understood.” General Skywalker switches off his comm and pulls it from his ear, and stares at it for a moment. Something seems to be bothering him.

“Everything alright, sir?” Rex asks, just as a part of him wonders about the fate of the other fronts of this battle.

“Mhmm,” Skywalker says, shaking his head a little. “Get the men together. General Krell is coming to visit.”

***

Rex has only ever heard rumors about General Pong Krell. That he is a hero; that his soldiers have one of the highest mission success rates of any in the G.A.R.; that due to war-time wounds of an undisclosed nature, he had been put on mandatory medical leave within the Jedi Temple and his legion was liquidated, spread out amongst the other Jedi Generals. That was how the 501st had ended up with their own personal regs encyclopedia, but so far it seemed apparenr that Dogma refused to talk about anything related to Pong Krell.

In short, Rex doesn't know what to expect while he stands at attention beside Skywalker as a gunship descends from the dark sky of Umbara and lands in a cloud of purple-black dirt before them.

A tall, thick-bodied Besilisk exits the drop ship and stomps over to them. That’s the first thing Rex notices. He doesn’t walk. He stomps, like the ground itself is something he wishes to quash beneath his feet.

He looks like an able General, but he also looks like a complete asshole and if Skywalker’s sour expression is any indicator, that must be true.

“General Krell’s here?” Dogma asks somewhere behind Rex.

“Something big must be going on,” replies Fives, before hushing the younger clone.

Krell comes to a stop before them, and Skywalker inclines his head ever so slightly. “Master Krell, my thanks for the air support.”

“Indeed, General Skywalker,” General Krell replies in a voice like the distant boom of a bomb hitting its mark. “The locals have proven to be more resourceful than we anticipated.”

“But that’s not the reason for your visit.”

Krell closes his eyes and shakes his head. “No. The Council has ordered you back to Coruscant, effective immediately.”

“What?” Skywalker scoffs. “Why?”

“I’m afraid a request was made by the Supreme Chancellor,” says Krell, not sounding alarmed by the news at all. “And the Council obliged.” Krell sounds polite but frustrated, lips drawn back over his fangs. “That is all they would tell me.”

“Well, I can’t just leave me men,” Skywalker exclaims.

“I’ll be taking over in the interim,” responds Krell, levelly.

Skywalker’s jaw works as if he’s about to start arguing, but Rex cuts in before he can.

“Don’t worry about a thing, sir,” Rex says. “We’ll have the capital under Republic control by the time you’re back.”

Both Skywalker and Krell turn to him, with varying levels of respect. Skywalker breaks the silence first. “Master Krell, this is Rex, my first in command. You won’t find a finer or more loyal trooper anywhere.”

Krell’s gaze swivels across Rex, and something about the look makes the hairs on the back of Rex’s neck stand on end. It's like he's a piece of hardware being appraised. He doesn’t feel like a man beneath that look.

But just as quickly as the feeling appears, it’s gone, and Krell is patting Skywalker on the shoulder with a friendly (or as friendly as a face like his could possibly get) smile.

“Good to hear that.” It almost looks like he’s pushing Skywalker towards the transport, but that can’t be right. Rex blames it on fatigue. “I wish you well, Skywalker.”

General Skywalker turns his head away from Krell and to the men behind him. Then he looks at Rex.

“By the time I get back?” he asks.

Rex salutes. “I promise, sir.”

Skywalker smiles, and boards the dropship. In minutes, the stormclouds close around the ship, and he's gone. 

***

Krell watches the transport as it lifts into the air and disappears into the dark clouds. He doesn’t notice Rex as he walks the few feet between them to stand at his side, or, at least, he seems not to notice.

“Your reputation precedes you, General,” Rex begins. It’s better than standing in silence with the hulking Jedi. “It is an honor to be serving with you.”

Krell kisses his teeth. “I find it very interesting, Captain, that you are able to recognize the value of honor, for a clone.”

Rex blinks, taken aback by the sudden change in demeanor. Krell hadn’t looked down at him when he’d spoken. Even now, his gaze is focused on the distance. Rex relaxes just a fraction, and looks curiously at –

“Stand at attention when I address you.” Krell growls, and Rex’s back snaps straight, his chin jutting up. “Your flattery is duly noted,” Krell continues, “but it will not be rewarded. And, Captain.”

Rex doesn’t move an inch. He feels like a cadet back on Kamino. “Yes, sir!”

“You will not speak unless spoken to, is that understood? Skywalker may have been lax in his command, but I am not. There’s a reason my command is so effective.” Krell struts down the line of clones standing at attention, leaning down to eye level with a few. “And it’s because I do things by the book.” At this, he gets right in Fives’ face, who shows nothing of his discomfort save for a slight tightening of his lips. “That includes protocol.”

It may have been Rex’s eyes playing tricks on him, but he swears he sees a look of desperate hope pass across Dogma’s face as Krell walks by him without a word. He had been under Krell’s command before, Rex remembers, but Krell acts as though he doesn’t recognize. Dogma visibly sags.

Before Rex can think on the subject longer, Krell issues out a clear command in his deep voice. “Have all platoons ready to move out immediately. That is all.”

As Krell walks off, Fives gives Rex a look. A look that Rex has only ever seen him able to give, despite the fact that all the clones share the same face. It says _What the kriff was that about?_

Rex shrugs, at a loss.

***

“Quicken that pace, battalion!” Krell shouts down the line. “This isn’t some training course on Kamino!”

Rex can feel Fives’ gaze through both their helmets. <The new general has a way with words.> Fives notes through their connected comm.

 _< He’s just trying to keep us on schedule.>_ Rex replies.

The argument is clear in Fives’ tone. _< By raising everyone’s ire?>_

Rex isn’t sure how to answer that. While it is true that General Krell is… aggravating, it isn’t all that different from some Jedi. The 501st is lucky to have ended up with Skywalker. Rex had heard horror stories about Jedi turning mid-battle, going mad and killing the clones under their order, or ones that likened clones to droids: tools to be expended during the war. Rex is perfectly fine with giving his life up for a cause, but he’d prefer to be considered a man instead of a tool when he does it. _< Either way, he’s in charge, and we’ve got a job to do. Just treat him with respect, and we’ll get along fine.>_

Fives doesn’t answer and at first Rex assumes it’s because he’s hit a nerve, but then Fives shoves an elbow into his side and points skyward. “Do you see that?” he asks, not bothering to use the internal comms.

Sure enough, two glowing green creatures with sharp, crab-like forelegs and long tails are swooping down from the fog above them.

“Yeah. Ready your weapons!” Rex says, pulling out one of his pistols and aiming for rapidly approaching green specks.

The creatures’ chittering echoes through the darkness, sending goosebumps growing down Rex’s spine.

“Banshees!” Someone behind him shouts.

The Banshees descend, and Rex gives the order.

“Fire!”

Beams of blue plasma brighten up the air around them as Rex, Fives, and at least twenty brothers behind them begin to fire at the creatures. The creatures dive and duck, twisting through the air and dodging the barrage of fire. One swoops down low enough to clip the top of Rex’s helmet with its tail, before grabbing one of his brothers down the line and jerking high up before dropping them a few yards to the ground. Their screams echo and die off quickly.

“Tup!” Down the line, Dogma comes running, blasting into the air at one of the creatures still carrying one of their brothers. Rex recognizes the nearly all-white armor from her and changes position. The creature is still low enough that getting dropped won’t kill Tup.

“Aim for the one of the mandibles holding him,” Rex says, and Fives nods.

But before their blasterfire can hit its mark, a large shape comes lumbering up behind them and leaps into the air.

All Jedi have the ability to jump great distances thanks to the Force. Rex has seen it time and again with Skywalker and Commander Tano. Yet to see someone of Krell’s size fly through the air over fifty yards above them is something to make even him pause. It’s terrifying.

General Krell grabs the top of one of the tentacle-like Umbaran trees shooting up from the ground with two of his hands, and uses his momentum to swing himself around and onto the back of the creature holding Tup.

He punches the creature, and using all four arms, forcefully tears the mandibles open. Tup falls to the ground only ten feet below, and quickly gets up with Dogma’s help.

Krell, meanwhile, lands the creature on the ground. He stands over the loudly squealing thing, and pulls two long-handled lightsabers from his belt. He ignites them, and four beams – two green and two blue – flash out of the hilts. He spins them around with expert movements, before bringing the points down into the creature’s head. The insect-like shrieking stops abruptly.

The other Banshee comes swooping down out of the air behind Krell, but the fearsome Jedi brings one tall lightsaber up and around in a vicious sweep, severing the creature nearly in half just as its claws are about to grasp him. The creature hurtles through the air, half-alive, and comes crashing into the ground between Fives and Rex.

 _“Haar’chak!”_ Fives shouts, dancing away from the flailing mandibles.

The creature’s flailing quickly subsides into shaking. It’s wings are gone, and the thing almost inspires sympathy. Almost. Rex might just be getting soft.

He lowers his blaster as Krell lumbers over and brings his foot crashing down into the creature’s cranium. It jerks, spasms, and goes completely limp.

“Anyone else want to stop and play with the animals?” Krell hisses, swiveling his head like a cobra from Fives to Tup and Dogma, before finally leveling a gaze that seems to glow like the trees around them at Rex.

Instinctively, Rex straightens up under the look. He doesn’t say anything.

“Didn’t think so,” Krell finishes with a snarl, and turns back toward the path they’d been on. “Now keep moving!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **Mando'a Translations**  
>  *Vod - man, basically the Mandalorian equivalent of 'dude'  
> *haar'chak - damn it
> 
> *I swear on my life-sized Obi-Wan Kenobi cardboard standup that I keep in the living room: Serenus is coming, and like heck is this gonna end like the show did. Nah! That being said, though:
> 
> *Some lines taken from Season 4, Episode 7 of TCW: "Darkness on Umbara"


End file.
